--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Living is having and following a purpose…" description: "\"Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it, you're living and ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/l-ron-hubbard-881_existence_living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose_2595240.jpg" --- # Living is having and following a purpose. That's all… ![“Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it, you're living and if you don't do it, you're not living. And that's all there is to it. I've now given you the basic fundamental of existence and that really is it.” quote by L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/l-ron-hubbard-881_existence_living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose_2595240.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/l-ron-hubbard-881_existence_living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose_2595240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/86a/l-ron-hubbard-881_existence_living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose_2595240.jpg) > “Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it, you're living and if you don't do it, you're not living. And that's all there is to it. I've now given you the basic fundamental of existence and that really is it.” [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Living means having and following a purpose; without purpose, one is not truly alive. **In simple terms:** Purpose defines living. Key Takeaway Find and pursue your purpose. Themes purpose existence meaning Mood inspirational reflective Type philosophical self‑help When to use this quote - career planning - volunteering - spiritual practice - goal setting Key Concepts Existentialism self‑actualization Questions to Reflect On - What purpose drives you now? - How can you discover a deeper purpose? A Different Perspective Purpose can be ambiguous or change over time. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Existence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) [Existence Really](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence-really-802178/) [Following](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/following/) [Formulas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/formulas/) [Fundamentals](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fundamentals/) [Given](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/given/) [Ifs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ifs/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living/) [Living Having](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/living-having-1895474/) [Purpose](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose/) [Purpose Living](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/purpose-living-298286/) ## Related quotes > [Living is having and following a purpose. That's all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/living-is-having-and-following-a-purpose-that-s-all/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You've got to kind of speak things into existence if you really want them to happen.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jimmer-fredette/you-ve-got-to-kind-of-speak-things-into-existence-if-you-really-want/) [Jimmer Fredette](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jimmer-fredette/) > [Existence really is an imperfect tense that never becomes a present.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/existence-really-is-an-imperfect-tense-that-never-becomes-a-present/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [Because you're not thinking about existence and being, you're not really thinking at all.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-tsarion/because-you-re-not-thinking-about-existence-and-being-you-re-not/) [Michael Tsarion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-tsarion/) > [My existence is such that "I" do not really exist. At the end of understanding so much I understand that I know nothing. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kedar-joshi/my-existence-is-such-that-i-do-not-really-exist-at-the-end-of/) [Kedar Joshi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kedar-joshi/) > [Existence was really very simple when you did what you were told.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-goldman/existence-was-really-very-simple-when-you-did-what-you-were-told/) [William Goldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-goldman/) > [Sometimes, I wonder if you've ever noticed my existence, and if you really did, would you have came to me and said hi?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/sometimes-i-wonder-if-you-ve-ever-noticed-my-existence-and-if-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I went from being married to living on my own in L.A., to having a new boyfriend and just being totally self-sufficient and super…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lindsey-vonn/i-went-from-being-married-to-living-on-my-own-in-l-a-to-having-a-new/) [Lindsey Vonn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lindsey-vonn/) > [“It was getting dark; soon it would be time for dinner. I finished my drink in a swallow. The idea of living there, of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/it-was-getting-dark-soon-it-would-be-time-for-dinner-i-finished-my/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [You cannot do what I do for a living without having a thick skin.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aaron-zigman/you-cannot-do-what-i-do-for-a-living-without-having-a-thick-skin/) [Aaron Zigman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aaron-zigman/) > [“..all I understand about living is having your work to do, and being able to do it. That's the pleasure, and the glory, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ursula-k-le-guin/all-i-understand-about-living-is-having-your-work-to-do-and-being/) [Ursula K. Le Guin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ursula-k-le-guin/) > [Living is already having been born, in a condition we have not chosen, a situation in which we find ourselves, a quarter of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-ricoeur/living-is-already-having-been-born-in-a-condition-we-have-not-chosen/) [Paul Ricoeur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-ricoeur/) > [I wanted to see if I could make a living off of having fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-giertz/i-wanted-to-see-if-i-could-make-a-living-off-of-having-fun/) [Simone Giertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-giertz/) > [“The idea of living there, of not having to go back ever again to asphalt and shopping malls and modular furniture; of living there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-tartt/the-idea-of-living-there-of-not-having-to-go-back-ever-again-to/) [Donna Tartt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-tartt/) > [This is what youth must figure out: Girls, love, and living. The having, the not having, The spending and giving, And the meloncholy time…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/this-is-what-youth-must-figure-out-girls-love-and-living-the-having/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) ## More by L. Ron Hubbard > [Oh yes! The one man in the world who never believes he's mad is the madman.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/oh-yes-the-one-man-in-the-world-who-never-believes-he-s-mad-is-the/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [The African tribesman, with his complete contempt for truth and his emphasis on brutality and savagery for others but not for himself, is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-african-tribesman-with-his-complete-contempt-for-truth-and-his/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [See what you see, not what someone tells you that you see](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/see-what-you-see-not-what-someone-tells-you-that-you-see/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Now it's of peculiar interest to an Arab country that there is a company and a certain set of bankers who also finance the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/now-it-s-of-peculiar-interest-to-an-arab-country-that-there-is-a/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [In all the broad Universe there is no other hope for Man than ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/in-all-the-broad-universe-there-is-no-other-hope-for-man-than/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Now, get this as a technical fact, not a hopeful idea. Every time we have investigated the background of a critic of Scientology, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/now-get-this-as-a-technical-fact-not-a-hopeful-idea-every-time-we/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [I know no man who has any monopoly upon the wisdom of this universe. It belongs to those who can use it to help…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/i-know-no-man-who-has-any-monopoly-upon-the-wisdom-of-this-universe/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [One's attitude toward life makes every possible difference in one's living. You know, you don't have to study a thousand ancient books to discover…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/one-s-attitude-toward-life-makes-every-possible-difference-in-one-s/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [“Recently there came a period when I had little to do. This was novel in a life so crammed with busy years, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/recently-there-came-a-period-when-i-had-little-to-do-this-was-novel/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [God was feeling sardonic the day He created the Universe. So it's rather up to at least one man every few centuries to pop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/god-was-feeling-sardonic-the-day-he-created-the-universe-so-it-s/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [The way out is the way through.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/the-way-out-is-the-way-through/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You don't get rich writing science fiction. If you want to get rich, you start a religion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/you-don-t-get-rich-writing-science-fiction-if-you-want-to-get-rich/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [One of the ways you learn about life is to associate with people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/one-of-the-ways-you-learn-about-life-is-to-associate-with-people/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [Dianetics is a milestone for man comparable to his discovery of fire and superior to his invention of the wheel and the arch.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/dianetics-is-a-milestone-for-man-comparable-to-his-discovery-of-fire/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) > [You can remember times when you were a kid, when life looked too doggoned deliciously beautiful to be left alone. So you could feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-ron-hubbard/you-can-remember-times-when-you-were-a-kid-when-life-looked-too/) [L. Ron Hubbard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) [Explore all 342 L. Ron Hubbard quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-ron-hubbard/) ## More Existence quotes > [Getting on the cover of TIME guarantees the existence of opposition in the future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-kenneth-galbraith/getting-on-the-cover-of-time-guarantees-the-existence-of-opposition/) [John Kenneth Galbraith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-kenneth-galbraith/) > [The time that one gains cannot be accumulated in a storehouse; it is contradictory to want to save up existence, which, the fact is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/the-time-that-one-gains-cannot-be-accumulated-in-a-storehouse-it-is/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [A lot of indigenous cultures are deeply involved in working with ancestor spirits, elemental spirits, and demons. Many of these cultures feel that, if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-pinchbeck/a-lot-of-indigenous-cultures-are-deeply-involved-in-working-with/) [Daniel Pinchbeck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-pinchbeck/) > [It does not seem to me to be sufficiently recognized everywhere among the officials that the existence or non-existence of our people and Empire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-von-hindenburg/it-does-not-seem-to-me-to-be-sufficiently-recognized-everywhere-among/) [Paul von Hindenburg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-von-hindenburg/) > [Quantum physics fluctuates all the time. But now the fluctuations are not just particles coming into and out of existence, which happens all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neil-degrasse-tyson/quantum-physics-fluctuates-all-the-time-but-now-the-fluctuations-are/) [Neil deGrasse Tyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neil-degrasse-tyson/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One of the things I regret about not putting in that book or I think it's there but I didn't really elaborate on it,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brad-warner/one-of-the-things-i-regret-about-not-putting-in-that-book-or-i-think/) [Brad Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brad-warner/) > [My mind rebels at stagnation. Give me problems, give me work, give me the most abstruse cryptogram, or the most intricate analysis, and I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-conan-doyle/my-mind-rebels-at-stagnation-give-me-problems-give-me-work-give-me/) [Arthur Conan Doyle](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-conan-doyle/) > [May God bless each of us in our calls to serve. May our faith strengthen as we serve in righteousness, faithfully keeping the commandments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-tom-perry/may-god-bless-each-of-us-in-our-calls-to-serve-may-our-faith/) [L. Tom Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/l-tom-perry/) > [Never belong to a crowd; Never belong to a nation; Never belong to a religion; Never belong to a race. Belong to the whole…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rajneesh/never-belong-to-a-crowd-never-belong-to-a-nation-never-belong-to-a/) [Rajneesh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rajneesh/) > [A knowledge of the existence of something we cannot penetrate, of the manifestations of the profoundest reason and the most radiant beauty - it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/albert-einstein/a-knowledge-of-the-existence-of-something-we-cannot-penetrate-of-the/) [Albert Einstein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/albert-einstein/) > [Universities are the cathedrals of the modern age. They shouldn't have to justify their existence by utilitarian criteria.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lodge/universities-are-the-cathedrals-of-the-modern-age-they-shouldn-t-have/) [David Lodge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lodge/) > [Just as everybody has the vote including women, I think children should, because as a child is conscious of itself then it has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gertrude-stein/just-as-everybody-has-the-vote-including-women-i-think-children/) [Gertrude Stein](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gertrude-stein/) > [To divide one's life by years is of course to tumble into a trap set by our own arithmetic. The calendar consents to carry…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/clifton-fadiman/to-divide-one-s-life-by-years-is-of-course-to-tumble-into-a-trap-set/) [Clifton Fadiman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/clifton-fadiman/) > [The party in Alobar’s head, which agitation and anxiety were throwing, now was crashed by a notion: existence can be rearranged.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-robbins/the-party-in-alobar-s-head-which-agitation-and-anxiety-were-throwing/) [Tom Robbins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-robbins/) [Browse all 7,646 Existence quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/existence/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Living is having and following a purpose. That's all. That's the formula of life-have and follow a purpose. That's it. If you do it, you're living and if you don't do it, you're not living. And that's all there is to it. 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